The invention relates to a hand-held analytical device for analyzing a sample, in particular a biological fluid, for a medically significant component, comprising an analytical facility, a display facility, a housing comprising a loading opening for receiving a replaceable drum cartridge having multiple chambers that may contain analytical consumables, in particular test strips, each chamber comprising an opening at a face of the cartridge, each opening may be sealed with a sealing foil, a removal facility for removing one of the analytical consumables from the cartridge. The removal facility can be used to remove one of the consumables from one of the chambers of the cartridge, in the process of which the opening sealed by the sealing foil is opened and a drive allowing the cartridge to be moved in order to position one of the chambers in a removal position in which a consumable can be removed from the chamber by means of the removal facility.
Carriers for rapid tests have become established for chemical and biochemical analysis of solid and liquid sample materials in specialized laboratories and also, in particular, for the use outside of stationary laboratories. Carriers for rapid tests are based on a specially-developed dry chemistry and can be carried out easily and straightforwardly even by laymen despite the often complex reactions involving sensitive reagents.
Test elements for the determination of the blood glucose level of diabetics are a known example of carriers for rapid tests. Diagnostic test elements provided in the form of strips are also called test strips. Known embodiments thereof include, for example, single-field or multiple-field test strips for urine analysis and various indicator papers. Since various forms of test elements other than test strips exist, test elements are more generally denoted as “analytical consumables”, which also includes lancets or sample removal elements, for example.
Analytical consumables of this type are used in a hand-held analytical device which, for example, uses an optical analytical facility for analyzing by photometry a color change of a test strip. The analytical consumables are stored in a drum cartridge, such as is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,436 (claiming priority to DE 19902601), which is incorporated by reference herein. A drum cartridge of this type comprises multiple chambers that can contain analytical consumables in a ring-shaped arrangement. The chambers each comprise an insertion opening and a removal opening on opposite faces of the drum cartridge. These openings each are sealed by a sealing foil in order to protect the analytical consumables from detrimental environmental influences, such as light, moisture or dust.
In known hand-held analytical devices, for example the “Accu-Chek® Compact Blutzuckermeβgerät” (Instructions for Use (German) Publ. No. 3273571 (67)-06/01, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, 2001), a removal facility is actuated in order to check whether or not an analytical consumable is present in or has already been removed from a chamber of the drum cartridge. The known hand-held analytical device has two testing circuits. A first testing circuit is contacted by a tappet that is attached to a pusher rod of the removal facility once that pusher rod is inserted into a chamber of the drum cartridge. If a consumable is present in the chamber, it is then pushed out by the pusher rod and actuates a switch that closes a second testing circuit. Accordingly, if an actuation of the removal facility leads to closing of the first testing circuit but not of the second testing circuit, the respective chamber of the drum cartridge is empty.
Hand-held analytical devices for analyzing a medically-relevant component of a sample, such as, for example, devices for blood glucose monitoring, are frequently handled by individuals whose perception or manual skills are impaired by disease or age. For this reason, it is important for such analytical devices to be as easy as possible to handle and mal-operations to be largely excluded.
It is also important for the power consumption of hand-held analytical devices to be as low as possible. This is because, the lower the power consumption, the less frequently the batteries providing the power source of the device need to be replaced or recharged. If power consumption is sufficiently low, the use of a power source provided in the form of solar cells is possible.
All considered, contrary to stationary laboratory equipment operated by professionally trained staff, hand-held analytical devices must be as easy to handle as possible, have low power consumption, and, like the cartridges used therein, be designed to be carried by their users at all times.